The Edge Marketing

Parents are always looking for free and easy ways to improve their child's education. School funding plays a big part in the education that your child receives, especially if you are in a smaller school such as a church school or private, independently owned school. There are several school fundraising and fund raiser programs that a parent can participate in that will help with the goal of raising funding for their school. The following paragraphs describe some of the most easy, effortless and popular school fundraising ideas in which parents can participate:

1. Campbell's Labels for Education -- The Campbell's Labels for Education fundraising campaign has been around for many years and provides large amounts of funding to schools throughout the country each year. The process is simple -- simply peel off the labels of your Campbell's soups and turn them into your school. Your school will then send them in to Campbell's to redeem them for school funding. Also, did you know that all Campbell's labels aren't worth the same amount of money? I found that the Campbell's line of Chunky Chilis are actually worth 5 soup labels! Campbell's makes lots of other products that you can turn into your school for funding -- it's not just limited to soups! For more information on the Campbell's Labels for Education fund raising program and many of the Campbell's products that are worth funding for your school, visit the Labels for Education website.

2. General Mills Box Tops for Education -- This fund raising program is very similar to the Campbell's program listed above. Simply purchase any General Mills products with the Box Top for Education label on it, turn it in to your school, and they in turn will send it in for school funding. It's that simple. You can find out more about this fund raiser program by visiting the Box Tops For Education website.

3. Scrip Advantage -- The Scrip Advantage fund raising program provides school funding through purchasing of gift certificates from popular retailers (such as Macy's, JCPenney's, Home Depot, Shell, Kroger, and Gap) nationwide that it has relationships with in large quantities and at a discount. Scrip Advantage then makes these gift certificates available to nonprofit organizations (in your case, your school) at a discounted rate. When your school sells these same gift certificates to its families and members at face value, the difference between the discount rate and face value is the school's weekly profit. There are hundreds of retailers on the list, and your school is probably already a participant in the program. Call your school office to find out of they are a participant and sign up! If they aren't have them visit the Scrip Advantage website for more details on this fund raising program.

4. Your Local Grocery Store – Many grocery stores have fundraiser programs where they will donate a percentage of the money you spend for groceries to the school or organization of your choice. For instance, in my area there is a Food Lion store that has a card called the MVP card where you can get grocery items at a discount price if you are a MVP member. Then each time I shop at Food Lion and use my MVP card, a portion of my total grocery purchase will be donated to my school. It's that simple! Hey, we all have to eat, so why not benefit your school in the process, since it is so effortless! To see if there is a Food Lion in your area, visit the Food Lion website. If there isn't then check with your local grocery stores -- I'm sure at least one of them has a similar fund raising program.

5. Restaurant Benefit Night -- This is an idea that I think is great! Local restaurants (such as Fuddruckers, Chick-Fil-A and CiCi's Pizza to name a few) have a benefit night that provides funding to the school or organization of your choice. It works like this -- you go to the restaurant and when you order your food, tell them the organization that you would like them to fund. The restaurant then takes a percentage of your meal total and donates it to the school or organization of your choice for funding. Many restaurants have these types of fund raising programs, so next time you go, inquire about it and enjoy your food even more, knowing your are funding your school!

6. Department Store Contributions -- Did you know that you can provide school funding every time you use your department store card? For instance, Target offers a school fundraising program where for every purchase you make on their Target Visa or Red Card, they will donate a percentage to the school of your choice. All you have to do is link your card to the school of your choice through the Target website and they'll send the money to your school. Again, it's just that simple!

The paragraphs above list just a few easy and effortless school fund raisers and fund raising ideas. They don't require selling of candy bars, candles or pizzas (not that there's anything wrong with those fundraising ideas, but they require more effort), and they provide your school with funding year round, for buying items and things that you would normally buy anyway.

Good luck with your school fund raisers and fund raising!

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